Plant Manager-Manufacturing Manager

Job Title: Plant Manager-Manufacturing Manager Job Summary The Manufacturing Manager is responsible for the overall performance and day-to-day execution of all manufacturing operations, including Concrete Products, Metal Fabrication, and HPC Assembly. This position provides leadership to the production supervisors and is accountable for ensuring customer demand is safely converted into quality finished product on schedule and at the expected productivity level.

The Manufacturing Manager owns production execution, labor utilization, capacity management, schedule attainment, manufacturing productivity, standard work, continuous improvement, and development of the production leadership team. The position works closely with Production Planning, Purchasing, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Warehouse, Shipping & Receiving, and Customer Service to identify and resolve issues that could impact production or customer commitments.

Key Responsibilities

Production Leadership & Execution Provide overall leadership for Concrete, Metal Fabrication, and HPC Assembly operations. Directly lead, coach, and develop the supervisors responsible for each manufacturing area. Ensure daily and weekly production requirements are clearly communicated and executed. Translate the production schedule into clear departmental priorities and measurable daily targets.

Monitor actual production against plan and require recovery plans when production falls behind. Maintain visibility to backlog, past-due orders, customer priorities, and production constraints. Ensure work moves efficiently between departments and work centers. Establish clear ownership and accountability for production results at the supervisor level.

Escalate significant risks to the VP of Operations with recommended corrective actions . Production Scheduling & Schedule Attainment Partner with Production Planning to ensure schedules are realistic based on available labor, equipment, materials, and capacity. Review production requirements and capacity before significant customer commitments are made.

Ensure supervisors understand daily, weekly, and longer-term production priorities. Identify schedule risks before customer commitments are missed. Develop and execute recovery plans for past-due production. Control unnecessary work-in-process by ensuring production is released and sequenced appropriately. Coordinate priority changes across production departments when customer or business requirements change.

Capacity Management Understand available versus required capacity across all manufacturing departments. Monitor capacity at critical work centers, including laser cutting, press brakes, welding, finishing, concrete production, and assembly. Identify current and future bottlenecks. Recommend appropriate responses including labor changes, overtime, cross-training, alternate routing, outsourcing, process improvements, equipment, or capital investment.

Ensure capacity constraints are communicated early enough to support effective business decisions. Participate in longer-term capacity and demand planning. Labor & Workforce Management Ensure staffing levels are appropriate for production requirements. Manage labor deployment across manufacturing departments. Review overtime needs and ensure overtime is supported by a clear production requirement.

Monitor direct labor utilization, productivity, attendance, and staffing gaps. Build flexibility through cross-training and employee development. Identify critical skill gaps and partner with HR on recruiting and workforce planning. Ensure supervisors consistently address attendance, performance, conduct, and accountability issues.

Develop succession and backup plans for critical production positions. Concrete Manufacturing Provide leadership and oversight for concrete fire pit, enclosure, shell, cladding, finishing, and related concrete manufacturing activities. Ensure concrete operations have the required molds, materials, labor, equipment, work instructions, and capacity.

Monitor production flow through casting, curing, finishing, inspection, and downstream operations. Reduce scrap, rework, variation, and excessive production cycle time. Ensure proper production controls and standard work are established for repeatable product quality. Work with Engineering and Quality on material, process, color, finish, and product-related issues.

Metal Fabrication Provide leadership and oversight for fabrication operations including laser cutting, press brake, welding, grinding/finishing, and related manufacturing processes. Maintain visibility to work-center loading and fabrication backlog. Identify and manage constraints within laser, brake, welding, finishing, and outside-processing operations.

Ensure drawings, programs, tooling, raw material, fixtures, and work instructions are available before production begins. Monitor machine utilization and downtime and ensure recovery actions are established when critical equipment is unavailable. Drive improvements in fabrication flow, setup reduction, labor efficiency, throughput, and quality.

Coordinate with Engineering and Programming on drawing, BOM, routing, and manufacturability issues HPC Assembly Provide leadership and oversight for HPC assembly operations. Ensure assembly requirements are properly staffed and prioritized. Ensure components and kits are available before assembly work is released. Monitor assembly output, labor efficiency, work-in-process, shortages, and quality.

Balance employees and workloads across assembly areas based on customer demand. Establish repeatable assembly processes and standard work. Improve line/cell flow and eliminate unnecessary movement, waiting, and handling. Maintain flexibility through cross-training and skills development. Quality Partner with the Quality Manager to improve manufacturing quality and prevent defects.

Ensure supervisors and employees understand product specifications and quality requirements. Drive quality at the source rather than relying solely on final inspection. Monitor first-pass yield, scrap, rework, nonconformances, and recurring production defects. Ensure containment and corrective actions are implemented quickly when production quality issues occur.

Participate in root-cause analysis and corrective-action activities. Hold production leadership accountable for adherence to approved processes and work instructions. Support ISO and Quality Management System requirements within manufacturing. Safety Maintain a strong safety culture throughout all manufacturing areas.

Ensure supervisors consistently enforce company safety requirements. Participate in safety investigations and corrective actions. Address unsafe conditions, equipment, behaviors, and processes immediately. Ensure appropriate employee training and qualification for equipment and production processes. Partner with Safety/HR on training, compliance, incident reduction, and corrective actions.

Ensure good housekeeping and 5S practices throughout production. Equipment, Maintenance & Downtime Maintain visibility to critical equipment availability and downtime. Ensure equipment problems are communicated and escalated promptly. Partner with Maintenance and outside resources to minimize production interruptions.

Ensure production supports preventive-maintenance requirements. Establish recovery plans when equipment downtime impacts customer commitments. Identify recurring equipment problems and recommend permanent corrective actions. Develop capital-equipment recommendations when existing equipment limits capacity, quality, safety, or productivity.

Continuous Improvement Establish a culture of continuous improvement throughout manufacturing. Develop and maintain standard work for critical manufacturing processes. Improve product and material flow throughout production. Reduce unnecessary handling, waiting, transportation, inventory, rework, and other forms of waste.

Lead or sponsor Kaizen and process-improvement activities. Improve workplace organization through 5S and visual management. Use production data to identify improvement opportunities. Partner with Engineering to improve manufacturability, tooling, fixtures, routings, and processes. Measure results of improvement activities to ensure changes deliver sustainable benefits.

Production Leadership Development Conduct regular one-on-one meetings with each production supervisor. Establish clear expectations and measurable objectives for supervisors. Coach supervisors on leadership, communication, accountability, problem solving, and employee development. Require supervisors to manage their departments rather than escalating routine management responsibilities.

Develop future supervisors and leads within the production organization. Create clear succession plans for key manufacturing leadership positions. Recognize strong employee and leadership performance while addressing poor performance promptly. Daily Management & Communication Lead a daily manufacturing review covering previous-day plan versus actual, today's requirements, past-due production, critical customer orders, staffing, shortages, equipment downtime, quality issues, outside-processing issues, capacity constraints, safety concerns, and recovery actions.

Provide the VP of Operations with clear visibility to significant production risks, performance trends, recovery plans, and decisions requiring escalation. Key Performance Indicators Production schedule attainment On-time production completion Past-due backlog Daily/weekly throughput Labor efficiency/productivity Available versus required capacity Overtime First-pass yield Scrap and rework Equipment downtime Work-in-process Manufacturing lead time Material-shortage downtime Safety incidents Attendance Cross-training/skills coverage Continuous-improvement results Performance should be reviewed both at the total manufacturing level and individually for Concrete, Metal Fabrication, and HPC Assembly.

Qualifications

Five or more years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, with multi-department leadership strongly preferred. Demonstrated experience leading supervisors and hourly manufacturing employees. Experience in fabrication, assembly, concrete/cast products, or a mixed manufacturing environment preferred. Strong understanding of production scheduling, capacity planning, labor management, manufacturing flow, and constraint management.

Working knowledge of Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, 5S, and standard work. Experience working within ERP/MRP-driven manufacturing operations. Ability to understand production drawings, BOMs, routings, labor standards, and manufacturing performance data. Strong leadership, communication, coaching, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.

Ability to balance customer requirements with safety, quality, cost, capacity, and workforce considerations. Work Environment Manufacturing/production floor Exposure to noise, machinery, and metal materials Use of required personal protective equipment (PPE)\ Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, 401k, company paid life insurance, 8 paid holidays